


some things just go better together (and darling they always will)

by halfwayinit



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: M/M, Soulmate AU, ballumlockdown
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-23
Updated: 2020-09-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26608102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/halfwayinit/pseuds/halfwayinit
Summary: “daddy, what’s a soulmate?”
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Comments: 13
Kudos: 70





	some things just go better together (and darling they always will)

**Author's Note:**

> so here it is, my fic for the ballum lockdown gift exchange over on tumblr!  
> this fic is gifted to @isaacslahey 💗 
> 
> special thank you to @ballumory for giving me the idea for this fic and being so helpful and motivational as always x

  
“Daddy, what’s a soulmate?”

Lexi’s question throws Ben off balance, not expecting soulmates to be the topic of conversation at their breakfast table on a rainy Tuesday morning. He stalls for a brief moment as his mind goes blank, how does he go about explaining soulmates to a seven year old?

Ben’s hardly grasped the concept himself, just about wrapping his mind around the fact that there is an actual, real-life person out there who his soul has this unexplainable and unbreakable bond with. It’s not something he lets himself think about too often, worried that he’ll go down a rabbit hole of doubt that they exist, or even worse again that they do exist but could never love someone like Ben. 

When the silence stretches on too long for Lexi’s liking, she lets out a loud and dramatic sigh, something her mother insists she learned from her father. 

“Daddy! I asked you a question.” 

Ben almost laughs at the put-out expression on Lexi’s face, lips downturned into a frown as she crosses her arms, but instead he sets his coffee cup down and leans forward in his seat, elbows resting on the table. 

“Well, a soulmate is kind of like a person that you are destined to be with.” Lexi still looks confused so Ben continues, “Imagine that there is this invisible string and it connects two people together forever because their hearts and souls are tied together with the string. Does that explain it for you?”

Lexi’s quiet for a moment, clearly taking in her father’s words and trying to piece together an image of this string tying two people together forever. Forever is a long time, she thinks, wouldn’t the string break?

Ben can’t help the smile that takes over his face when Lexi asks him that exact question, her blue eyes wide and shining bright with childish curiosity. Ben shakes his head gently, trying to find the right words, wanting to explain it to his daughter in a way that she can understand.

“That’s the thing baby, the string never breaks. Not even when it gets all twisted or it’s stretched too thin. The string never, ever, breaks.”

His answer seems to satisfy Lexi and she’s content to go back to eating her jam and toast, the crumbs gathering at the corner of her mouth and her lips stained strawberry red. Ben just smiles, sitting back to finish his coffee before the chaos of the school run begins.

Lexi doesn’t bring up soulmates again until they’re walking to school, hand in hand as the mid-September sun casts an early morning glow of oranges and yellows across the Square. They’ve almost reached the school gate when Lexi comes to a stop, Ben giving a quick wave to Mick across the road as he drops Ollie off before he looks down at his daughter.

“You alright, baby?” 

Lexi just gives him a toothy smile, pulling on her father’s hand until she can whisper in his ear.

“I really hope you find your soulmate, Daddy.”

Ben doesn’t have time to react or even respond before Lexi’s letting go of his hand and running through the school gates. Yeah, he thinks, me too.

  
__________

The work day has long since started and Ben can’t seem to quiet his mind, feeling distracted even as he deals with clients and tries his best to close deals. He stares out the window on his break, chewing absentmindedly on his nails as Lexi’s comment replays over and over in his mind. 

_I really hope you find your soulmate, Daddy._

It makes Ben’s heart ache in his chest because deep down, as much as he tries to hide it, he hopes that too. With every single fibre of his being, every beat of his heart, every aching moment that his soul is alone, Ben longs for the missing puzzle piece that is his soulmate.

He thought that he had found his soulmate once, when he was a stupid, lovesick, teenager with enough love buried in his heart that it almost burst out of his chest at the first opportunity. 

Even when their marks didn’t match up, when they had to face the truth that their souls weren’t destined for one another’s, they refused to give up. 

It makes Ben smile when he thinks back on it, how adamant Paul was that their marks were wrong, that the universe was _wrong_ , because Ben and Paul were made for each other, their souls had found each other and connected for a reason. Paul had waltzed into Ben’s life at a time when Ben was ready to give up, refusing to take no for an answer and before they knew it, they were falling fast and hard, more in love than either of them had ever thought possible. 

But, that’s not to say it was an easy ride, not at all. 

Ben remembers so vividly the night a mark from his soulmate had appeared on his skin, Paul softly running his thumb across the mark that had formed on Ben’s wrist, tears pooling in his eyes at the reminder that, as much as they wanted to be, they weren’t soulmates. Ben had ached to pull his wrist away and forget about it, pretend like it hadn’t shown up, pretend that it didn’t exist. But, he couldn’t. They had to face the reality of it at some stage, as much as they didn’t want to.

“What do you think it means?” Paul had whispered, eyes burning into the mark. Ben just shrugged, not able to come up with an explanation. Soulmate marks appeared at random moments, always unpredictable and never the same. Sometimes they were words, other times little doodle-like drawings. Ben’s marks almost always appeared on his wrist or forearm, and this time it was a little heart with a cursive ‘C’ pride of place in it’s centre. 

“Let’s just forget about it, yeah?” Ben whispered, gently pulling his wrist out of Paul’s grip and twisting in the bed so they were face to face, “We’re here, we’re together and we’re happy. That’s what matters.”

They’d fallen asleep that night, limbs tangled together as the sky faded to black outside the window, fingers linked as they held on tight to this love that they’d found. 

They stayed holding on until Ben was forced to let go, a piece of his broken heart buried forever with his first love. It hurt more than anything Ben had ever experienced, saying goodbye to Paul, knowing he would never see that cheeky smile again or hear him laugh at his own, usually not very funny, jokes. 

It still hurts now, stings like hell every time a new mark appears on his skin and he’s forced to remember that Paul is gone and there’s a person out there who might want to replace him in Ben’s life. 

But at the same time, it makes hope blossom in his chest that maybe he can love again.

Maybe he can open his heart to someone new and feel that familiar thrill of want and need in his bones, feel the butterflies somersault in his stomach and happiness blossom in a way that it hasn’t for a long time.

Maybe, just maybe.

  
__________

The Square is quiet, almost eerily so, as Callum makes his way to the Vic. He’s late for a post-work pint with Jay after spending far too long with his head buried in paperwork for the funeral parlour. If there’s one thing Callum doesn’t like about his job, it’s the paperwork. It’s not working with the dead or dealing with grieving families because, surprisingly, those aspects come easily to him, which Callum’s certain was the sole reason Jay gave him the job in the first place. 

Callum speeds up his pace as rain droplets begin to fall from the darkening evening sky, staining his blue jacket a darker shade of navy as they get heavier with every footstep he takes. He’s so focused on getting to the Vic and out of the rain that he doesn’t notice the figure dressed in black rushing in the opposite direction to him until they’re colliding and hitting the pavement.

“Mate, I am so sorry! I didn’t see you.” 

Callum scrambles to his feet and reaches out his hand to help the other man up, apologies falling from his lips. It’s only when the other man’s on his feet again that Callum recognises him.

“Sorry again, mate. It’s Ben, isn’t it?”

“No worries. Yeah, Ben Mitchell, you work with Jay, right?” 

Callum nods, cheeks still burning with embarrassment that he managed to run right into Ben and knock him off his feet onto a cold, wet pavement. He gestures towards the doors of the Vic, asking Ben if he wants to join him and Jay for a pint.

Ben thinks about it for a second, the only noise around them the faint sound of music coming from the pub.

“Yeah sure, go on then.”

  
__________

The three of them end up sitting around a table together, appreciating the warmth of the pub in comparison to the rain that is still pelting down outside as they sip their pints. Callum hadn’t realised just how big of a personality the younger Mtchell has, finds himself laughing genuinely every time Ben comes out with a one-liner or an embarrassing story about Jay from their wilder, younger days on the Square.

“But then he met his soulmate and went all boring on me, ain’t that right Jay?” Ben asks, elbowing Jay playfully into his side. 

Jay just rolls his eyes, used to Ben’s quips about how he’s become boring and settled down. 

“Yeah well, if you had a soulmate like Lola you’d be like me too.”

Callum can’t help but smile at how Jay’s eyes light up as he talks about Lola, the love that he has for her shining so clearly right out of him. It makes a part of him long for that kind of love, for the tenderness and warmth that comes with finding your soulmate. 

Ben just smiles at Jay’s words too, happy that his best friend has found true love and happiness. He then gestures his pint towards Callum and asks him if he’s met his soulmate yet.

Callum shifts a bit awkwardly in his chair, eyes downcast to the table.

“Uh no, no I haven’t. I thought I had, when I was in the army, but um, no it- it ended up not being them.”

Ben just nods, like he understands. 

“Still plenty of time for us, eh Callum? They can’t put us on the shelf just yet.” 

The conversation thankfully shifts from soulmates pretty quickly after that, Callum trying his best to stop his mind from wandering to the army, to Chris. 

It’s only as he settles down against his pillows that night, duvet wrapped tight around him to stave off the cold, that he lets himself think about it. He’s gotten good at blocking it out, forcing himself not to think about his time in the army or his time with Chris.

Callum was in love with him, that kind of innocent, first-love that takes over your entire body and mind and stays with you forever. He remembers how scared he felt, the way his fingers trembled as they reached out for Chris’, the two of them hidden away from the rest of their unit. 

Even when they returned home and discovered that their marks didn’t match, it didn’t make them love each other any less. If anything, it made them stronger, more determined than ever to be happy with one another, soulmate marks be damned. 

Callum was happy, happier than he’d ever felt before in his life. He was out, and proud of who he was, and he had the most incredible man by his side throughout it all. Life was _good_.

Until it wasn’t.

He will never, ever, forget the pain of that day. The way his heart had dropped when he opened their front door to be faced with two solemn-looking police officers.

_Mr. Highway? Can we come in? I’m afraid we have some bad news._

The days and weeks after Chris’ death seemed to pass by in a blur of funeral planning, condolences, and unwavering, excruciating loneliness. 

Callum had been laying in their bed one afternoon, the weight of heartache too heavy for him to carry, when a mark appeared on his left wrist. It looked like it was a doodle from a child, a little smiley face surrounded by some lopsided hearts and something which he thinks was supposed to resemble a butterfly. It made him smile properly for the first time in weeks, the innocence of it all reminding him just how precious life really is. 

In some ways, Callum thinks that the mark that appeared that day was the catalyst for his move to Walford, the thing that made him want to start properly living again. For a long time after Chris died, he was just existing, doing enough to get by and then going home to an empty bed with an even emptier heart. 

Now, as much as he misses Chris, Callum can’t help but think of his soulmate and wonder where they are. 

He doesn’t feel the same guilt thinking about his soulmate as he had when Chris first passed away. Callum knows Chris would want him to move on, to be happy.

Happiness. 

A soulmate. 

Someone to spend the rest of his life loving.

__________

Weeks pass by and the Square is slowly but surely welcoming Autumn with open arms, orange leaves drifting in the wind as the days get shorter and the starry night sky peeks in through curtain gaps.

Ben finds himself tossing and turning one night, his conversation with Lexi from weeks ago playing on his mind again. He’s been keeping as busy as possible lately, hardly having time to think about soulmates or love in general. The car lot is coming up on one of it’s busiest periods of the year, and when Ben isn’t working or spending time with Lexi or Jay, he’s found himself a new and unexpected friend in Callum Highway.

Since the night that they, quite literally, collided, Ben can’t quite put his finger on what it is that draws him to the other man. But, he likes spending time with Callum and the feeling seems to be mutual. 

Ben finds himself making excuses to call in to the funeral parlour more often than he did when it was just Jay he wanted to see, and Callum is no stranger to a lunch-time coffee at the car lot, or pint in the Vic if either of their days have been particularly awful. They get on well, make each other laugh a lot, and Ben feels the happiest that he has in a very long time. He doesn’t open up to people very easily, let alone have them become such a big part of his life in a short amount of time. But, Callum is different. 

Even Lexi is smitten by the gentle giant, begging Ben to let him come over and make cookies with her like he promised the day he met her in the cafe. 

“Please, Daddy! Callum said he makes the best cookies in the whole entire world and I _really_ want to make them. Please!”

That’s how Ben’s ended up how he is now, flour smeared across his cheeks and the kitchen resembling a bombsite. Callum’s got his phone hooked up to Ben’s speaker and he’s playing some god-awful girlband tune that has Lexi twirling around the kitchen with a massive grin on her face, cheeks flushed as she laughs at Callum’s, very bad, attempt at dancing. 

“C’mon Ben” Callum’s got a cheeky grin on his face, one that Ben’s gotten used to seeing lately, “Show us your moves then!”

Ben laughs loudly, rolling up his sleeves as he pretends to clear a dance circle in the middle of the kitchen.

“You ain’t ready for these moves, Highway.”

The kitchen bursts with laughter from all three of them at Ben’s attempt, it’s possibly even worse than Callum’s, and that’s saying something. Lexi takes it upon herself then to show them how it’s done, relishing in the praise and applause from her dad and Callum.

By the time the washing up is done and the cookies have cooled down, the three of them are worn out but happy. 

Ben can’t remember the last time he felt this childishly happy or laughed as much as he has. So, when Lexi suggests they watch a movie while they test out _the best cookies in the world_ , Ben doesn’t immediately tell her no, instead he glances over at Callum for an answer, hoping that it’ll be yes.

“If it’s alright with your dad then I’d love that, princess. But only if we can watch a Disney movie because those are my favourite!” Callum answers her, leaning his hands on bended knees so he’s eye level with Lexi.

If Ben feels something familiar flutter in his chest at the sight of Lexi leading Callum by the hand into their living room to pick a movie, well nobody has to know but him.

__________

The Walford Christmas Market is in full swing by the time Ben and Lexi arrive, wrapped up in their bobble hats and gloves in a feeble attempt to keep warm in the bitter chill. It’s more festive than anything Ben’s ever seen in Walford before. There’s twinkling lights shining bright from every direction, carol singers giving a rendition of ‘Hark the Heralds Angels Sing’ in the distance, and a queue as long as the Victoria Line to see Father Christmas.

Lexi is in her element, immediately dragging Ben towards some stand where you try to win those massive teddy bears. 

Ben’s just about had enough of rigged game stands, sugary treats and standing in the freezing cold to see a fat man in a suit when he feels someone tug a little on the bobble on his hat.

When he looks around, Callum’s smiling back at him, nose and cheeks tinged a shade of red from the cold.

“Thought I’d find you two here! Are you waiting to see Father Christmas?” Callum asks, gesturing towards the line they’re standing in.

“No” Ben deadpans, “We just like to queue. It’s thrilling.”

That earns him an elbow into the side from Callum, and a slap on the leg from Lexi, who immediately starts reeling off everything she is going to say to Father Christmas when she sees him.

Callum ends up waiting with them until they get to the front of the queue, keeping Ben company while Lexi sits herself up on the man’s lap. After a minute or two she leans in to whisper something into Father Christmas’ ear and points over to where her dad is standing. When she’s happy with the answer she gets, she hops down and skips back over to Ben and Callum.

“What were you whispering about, baby?” Ben asks as they walk towards the cafe for the hot chocolate that he had promised both Lexi and Callum. 

Lexi’s quiet for a moment, like she’s thinking about whether or not to tell. In the end, she grips onto her dad’s hand and gives him a toothy smile as she answers him.

“I asked him to bring you your soulmate for Christmas!”

Ben’s heart swells at just how sweet his daughter is, unable to bring himself to tell her that there are some things that even Father Christmas can’t make happen. Instead, he reaches down to lift her up into a hug, squeezing tight and pressing a kiss down on to her mop of blonde hair.

“Thank you, darling.”

__________

It’s the day before Christmas Eve, _Christmas Eve Eve_ as Callum had put it, and Lexi has somehow roped both Ben and Callum into making the famous cookies again. Ben had told Callum that he didn’t have to do it, sure that the other man had much better things to be doing so close to Christmas, but Callum promised him that he was happy to do it. 

“Anything for Lex. She’s such a good kid, Ben. Proper funny too, like her dad.” 

Ben finds himself blushing at Callum’s words, biting back a smitten grin as he thanks him and agrees that yeah, she really is a good kid.

This time, while the cookies are baking, they decide against a dance battle and instead pile onto the couch to catch the end of The Grinch Who Stole Christmas on the telly.

It all happens so quickly from there, Lexi content to lay in Callum’s lap and trace little shapes on his hand as she watches the movie. Ben takes no notice at first, bone-tired from the busy week he’s had and just enjoying the time to sit back and relax with his two favourite people in the world. 

It’s when Lexi interrupts the movie to shout out “Daddy, look! My drawings are on your hand too!” that Ben, and Callum, both pay attention to what she’s been doing.

Sure enough, the little hearts that she’s been tracing on Callum’s hand are appearing crystal clear on Ben’s own hand. Ben feels his heart stop, breath almost catching in his throat as he dares to cast a glance up at Callum. 

Ben’s not sure what he was expecting to find. A disappointed look, maybe, Callum hoping that his soulmate was going to be someone better than Ben. 

But, when Ben gathers enough courage within him to look at Callum, he’s met with something completely different than he had expected. 

Callum’s eyes are shining bright with unshed tears, and he’s biting down on his lip to try and contain the smile that wants to take over his entire face. He looks like he’s glowing from the inside out as he reaches across to take Ben’s hand in his, fingers trembling slightly with the cacophony of feelings thrumming through him.

“I guess Father Christmas decided you needed your present early this year.” 

__________

Later that night, the moon’s pale glow has found its way through the gap in the curtains and is casting a shadow across Callum’s face as he sleeps soundly against Ben’s chest, their fingers delicately linked.

Outside, the Square is still bustling with last minute shoppers and carol singers hoping to bring festive cheer to every home. 

It makes Ben smile, knowing that he’s already got all the joy that he needs right here with him. 

London may be the city that never sleeps, Ben thinks, but his soul has never felt more at peace.   
  


**_“There are no accidental meetings between souls” – Sheila Burke_ **

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading, i really hope you enjoyed!
> 
> kudos/comments/feedback are always welcome
> 
> @halfwayinit on tumblr x


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